A study of the law and rules (with particular attention given to the Federal Rules of Evidence) governing the proof of disputed issues of fact in criminal and civil trials, including the functions of judge and jury; relevancy; real and demonstrative evidence; authentication and production of writings; hearsay; the Confrontation Clause, impeachment; and lay and expert testimony.

This course will be taught using NITA’s Evidence in Context case files. The case files include one civil defamation case and one criminal murder case. Students will represent one party in each case throughout the entire course of the semester and will answer problems in role. Assignments will typically involve reading the rules, reading the assigned treatise, and working through problems. A handful of cases will be assigned. The course will focus on the logical consistency of the rules and whether they further or impede the search for truth, and will also emphasize the relationship between facts, rules, and the theory of the case from a trial lawyer’s perspective. The format will combine lectures organizing the materials, Socratic questioning on the problems, and class discussions about policy issues.